Just Like Sheldon
by quirky-circus
Summary: Penny planned to start a new life when she moved into apartment 4A - what she didn't plan on was her new room mate who had a bad habit of falling through solid objects. AU, Sheldon/Penny.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Based on Just Like Heaven, alternate universe where the gang aren't friends and only Leonard is another featured character - sad concept, but give it a try. I don't own The Big Bang Theory or Just Like Heaven.

Just Like Sheldon

Chapter 1

* * *

"It's perfect."

She surveyed the room around her, taking in the open spaces and already contemplating how she could re-decorate. The price was practically a steal and the place came fully furnished - for someone like her who didn't have a lot at the moment, in terms of belongings or cash - it was a dream come true.

"I'll take it."

"Excellent! I'll have the papers written up in a jiffy and then the place will be officially yours! I must say, I never thought the legal owners would lease."

The woman gave her companion an inquiring look. "Why not?"

"Well," she answered in hushed tones, like she was telling a secret and the walls had ears. "It's all quite scandalous, if you ask me. Three months ago the tenant was involved in a car crash and has been in a coma ever since. His family has him on life support at the hospital, but they're not local and can't keep affording to pay his bills while they sit around and hope he pops an eye open. They finally decided to rent the place just last week."

"And the furniture?"

"No use to them," she shrugged. "They just packed up his most loved possessions. There's probably some knick knacks still laying around somewhere."

She looked around the place, suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of living here.

"Do you know much about the guy?"

The realtor pushed her cat eye glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "Apparently a genius - a real contender to win the Nobel prize."

Penny didn't know much about the world, but she did recognise and acknowledge what an achievement like that meant. "So probably like one of those beautiful mind guys, right?"

"Not too sure, honey. All I know is the family is thinking of cutting the life support soon, so then you could officially be the sole tenant of the place. I'll give you a call when I hear the news."

Penny cringed at the thought of receiving a phone call, informing her some man she had never met was now dead and then congratulating the fact the apartment was now hers. Instead she said, "I wouldn't want to bother you."

"Nonsense, sweetums." She sighed. "You remind me so much of myself, you know. Young and full of hope, moving to a new city to start a new life. Next thing you know you're selling shoe boxes to people you know won't be able to pay their rent."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm referring to you," The realtor - Barbara she thought her name was, if she thought hard enough - rushed to explain. "I have high hopes for you."

Penny didn't have any words to say to that, so all she did was smile politely.

"Well enough of this chit chat. If everything goes well you should be able to move in by the end of the week. I'll give you a copy of the key now."

She accepted what the outstretched arm was offering and quickly pocketed it in her jeans. The two walked out from the apartment, Barbara constantly chatting about her life and Penny pretending to listen. They began the trek down the four flights of stairs - broken elevator, Penny would have to speak to the buildings landlord about that - until they reached the lobby, and Penny realised she had been nodding and say yes periodically even though Barbara had stopped talking.

"It was nice doing business with you, Peggy." She didn't bother to correct her. She had only just remembered the woman's name herself, and still couldn't be entirely sure that was her actual name to begin with.

"Thank you for helping me find the place."

Barbara nodded and smiled before leaving the lobby and Penny to her thoughts. Was it weird to feel guilty for taking this man's apartment? Acting as the replacement for someone that hadn't even passed yet? Was it?

The lobby door swung open and she nearly groaned at the thought of Barbara coming back, but a short man donning glasses and a thick jacket entered instead, despite the warmer temperature. He stopped at the sight of her, clearly taking in her appearance, but was polite enough to try and maintain eye contact.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Er, hello," he said, then coughed awkwardly, and the sound echoed in the silence.

"I'm Penny," she said, walking over to reach out and shake his hand.

"I'm Leonard," he replied smiling but obviously confused and a little bewildered that this beautiful woman was introducing herself to him in the shabby lobby of his apartment building. "I live in an apartment on the fourth floor."

"Oh, cool!" she exclaimed happily. "I just began renting the apartment opposite you, so I guess that makes us neighbours now."

"T-The apartment opposite?"

She nodded.

"I didn't know that was up for rent since the... um..."

"Accident?" she finished gently.

Leonard nodded.

"Yeah, only recently. Did - do you know him?"

"Barely," he answered. "We saw each other a couple of times but hardly spoke. Sheldon liked to keep to himself."

"Sheldon?"

"Yeah, Dr. Sheldon Cooper. He was a little...eclectic."

"Oh." She didn't know how to continue the conservation without sounding desperate for information on this dude. For some reason, for perhaps the first time in her life, she actually craved to learn something.

"But that doesn't matter any more I guess, with you moving in and all."

"Yeah," she smiled, and she watched as Leonard lit up at the sight. He was cute she supposed, in that dorky way that was verging on nerd and chic geek. But more on the nerd side. She wasn't really in the right frame of mind to date though, and didn't want to get his hopes up by being overly friendly. But then again...

"I better head off and start packing some boxes. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, yeah," he nodded, perhaps too eagerly. "Definitely."

"Okay then," she said, stepping around him and heading to the door. "Bye."

He gave her a little wave, his face still stuck in awe. Once she was in her car she took a moment to fully comprehend the next step she was taking in her life. She might still be waitressing at The Cheesecake Factory, but she was far away from Kurt and was ready to get her acting career on track. She was ready to become the person she had always wanted to be and ready to do it by herself, not with her nosey mothers help or Kurt's overprotective stubbornness. She was ready to do this for herself and not for anyone else.

Her thoughts drifted back to Dr. Sheldon Cooper as it began to lightly drizzle, and she reached into her pocket to pull out the key to the apartment - her home now. She took a deep breath. She could do this, she wanted to do this. She fingered the key before pulling out of the parking lot and letting the tyres spin hard on the gravel, feeling already strangely connected to apartment 4A.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The support for the first chapter was overwhelming - more than I expected, and this truly is shaping out to be the most welcoming and rewarding fandom yet. This story won't be exactly like JLH, I have put in some creative changes that I hope everyone enjoys.

Just Like Sheldon

Chapter 2

* * *

She didn't try to think about how long it would take her to unpack. She wasn't a very organised person and the thought of actually doing the hard labour and getting everything set up in her new home made her cringe. But she was a new Penny and the new Penny was willing to do whatever it took to get her life together, and she may as well start with her new home. She set up her bedroom first then moved into the living room and kitchen, and it was dark by the time she was somewhat finished. She made macaroni and cheese for dinner and took a seat on the couch, flexing her legs out onto the coffee table in front of her. Her sock clad feet landed on a copy of a science magazine she had never heard of, but then figured that she hadn't even heard of any to begin with.

She picked it up and flicked through the pages, marvelling at a mind that could understand all these foreign words and formulas. She should throw it out, she really should, but instead she placed it back on to the table right next to her copy of Cosmo. For some unexplainable reason, that looked really right to her. She shook her head and sluggishly got off the couch, pouring herself a large glass of wine. One glass turned into two and two turned into three, and she told herself with each sip that drinking herself stupid wasn't something the new Penny would approve of. She told herself she was just throwing a little home warming party, and she would never touch a bottle of wine again. She sat back down and used the magazine as a coaster, flicking on the large TV and dozing lightly soon after an episode of Law and Order began playing.

"That's my seat."

Her eyes popped open and she jumped, knocking the glass with her foot and and turning the burgundy liquid into a puddle on the scientific magazine.

"Shit," she muttered, running to grab a towel to mop up the mess. She glared at the TV screen for scaring her, even though a voice at the back of her head told her the words sounded too close and too clear to be emanating from the television. That was definitely enough alcohol for the night. She had a shift at work the next day and wasn't bothered to do any more unpacking, so decided to call it an early night and get some sleep.

She took a hot shower to clear her head, shivering slightly as she stepped out into the cold air after she was done and wrapping a fluffy towel around her body. She wiped the small mirror clear of steam, examining her tired eyes in the reflection. She ran her hands through the cold water from the tap, splashing some on her face to cool her burning cheeks.

"Please be considerate, you're getting water all over the floor."

She screamed at the figure which suddenly appeared in the reflection, gripping her towel to her body as she spun around. Of course, no one was there. She tried to calm her breathing and tell herself there was a rational explanation for hearing the same voice twice in one night in her supposedly empty apartment. This time, though, she couldn't blame the TV, but she would try her damn hardest to blame the alcohol for her hallucinations. It had been brief, but she recalled the image of a young man, probably twenty five to thirty years old if she had to guess, although his outfit spoke otherwise. She remembered catching a glimpse of the famous Superman symbol on a casual tee, with an undershirt pulled to the crease in his elbows underneath. His hair was flat and a shade of brown, but what stood out the most was his bright cerulean eyes as they bore into her own through the reflection.

She tried to get dressed in her bedroom without acting paranoid, but she couldn't shake the feeling of sensing someone else's presence during the process. She tried to ignore it as best as she could and she slipped under the covers and despite her uneasiness, fell into a restless sleep with an aching head and dreams filled with bright blue eyes.

~TBBT~

She set down at her laptop and clicked on Google, fingers pausing over the keyboard for a hesitant moment. She had thought about the incident all day at work, and couldn't shake the idea that what she was thinking could be true. Hadn't this strange obsession already gone too far? Was this becoming more than a little creepy? Although the answer was probably yes, she typed the words into the search engine and clicked the search button before she lost her courage. There were a lot of articles relating to physics, something called Caltech and the Nobel prize also thrown into the mix. She skimmed the results briefly then clicked images, now greedy for more information. Her stomach sank in dread the same moment excitement started beating in her heart, because she had seen his face before- in her mirrors reflection the night before. What sort of explanation was there for drunkenly envisioning a man she had never previously seen before?

"You're in my room. Nobody's allowed in my room."

She gave herself credit for not jumping this time, instead calmly looking to the voice who belonged to the man - ghost? - standing at the foot of her bed, arms crossed and not amused at the situation at all.

She honestly didn't know what to say. What was one meant to say to the ghostly image of a person whom was meant to be in a coma?

"This is my room," she whispered finally, becoming increasingly uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze.

"It most certainly is not," he responded, and she easily detected a slight Texan twang to the tone. "All my belongings are in here and-" He looked around the room."What did you do with my stuff!?"

"I-I haven't touched it! Your family took it!"

"And why would they do that?" He said haughtily. "You, you femme fatale, are a thief!"

She pinched her arm surreptitiously, hoping with all her might this was her drunk unconscious imagination and she would wake up soon. No such luck, she was still propped in her bed and he was still glaring.

"I'm not a thief," she said, more calmly now. "Your family really did pack it all up because of the...accident."

His brow furrowed and he looked strikingly like a little boy as he asked what she meant. She threw the covers off and stood, keeping her distance but drawing to her full height. "Do you remember anything? About the accident, I mean."

"If there was an accident I would be well aware, thank you very much. I have an eidetic memory."

"I don't know what that means," she began as he rolled his eyes."But obviously you don't know what I'm talking about."

His face began to twitch, and she had a feeling he wasn't used to not knowing things.

"Listen," she said gently. "This is going to sound crazy and you might not believe me because I'm not even sure I believe myself, but a couple of months ago you were involved in a car accident. You're now lying in a hospital in a coma on life support, and your family has...decided to rent your apartment out. And that's where I come in."

He stared at her in silence, and she squirmed, begging for him to say something.

"I guess we're roomies," she said weakly, trying to make light of the situation.

Silence.

"Oh, and you're also kind of a ghost."

Silence.

"Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"Please vacate the premises immediately. You are obviously not in the right state of mind and I would appreciate it if you took your self and your ghastly possessions with you."

"I know it sounds weird, but I'm telling you the truth, Sheldon! You have to believe me."

He straightened even further and angled his body defensively. "How do you know my name?"

"Leonard, your neighbour told me. And the realtor who found this apartment told me about the car accident. You're Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a super smart physicist who was probably going to win the Nobel Prize one day."

"If I were to lose fifty IQ points, then I'd be considered merely smart. At an IQ of 187 I am a certifiable genius. And as a genius I say that what you're telling me is improbable and complete hokum."

"Why would I even make up something like that?" she asked incredulously.

"You tell me, you're the insane one."

She gave a frustrated growl. "Fine, don't believe me. But maybe you'll believe the proof."

She stalked forwards, each step bringing her closer towards him although she really had no plan and no clue what she was doing. He took stumbling steps back with each step that propelled her forward, like the prey being hunted by the mighty beast in the form of a 5'4" blonde.

"W-What are you doing?" He stuttered.

"If you're able to touch me then you win, I'm insane and I'll move out. But if I'm right then we sit down and talk this out like mature adults, got it?"

"I don't like to be touched," he explained crisply.

"Then let's pretend it's in the name of science," she murmured.

"Get away from me! Who knows how many pathogens are living on those hands of yours." He was still moving backwards across the room. "I will not risk a disease from some hillbilly stranger becau-"

Silence filled the room as he slipped through the wall.

"Holy shit," Penny whispered.

She brought a shaking hand to the wall and caressed the solid surface with scarce fingertips. It only just hit her that she had been talking to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a real living breathing ghost. Well, as living and breathing as they can get.

"We need to talk."

She spun around with a gasp as he stood at the foot of the bed again, a defeated and vulnerable expression on his pale face.

"Yeah," she gulped audibly. "We really do."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Once again, thank you everyone for the favourites, follows and reviews. It means a whole lot and it really motivates me - so thank you so much and please keep on supporting each chapter and this story! Can I also please quickly acknowledge that neither The Big Bang nor Jim Parsons received a Golden Globe the other night, and I was actually genuinely a bit devastated. On a better note, they did win at the Peoples Choice and Jim and Johnny and everyone looked amazing, and Kaley did such a great job hosting. Who needs another Golden Globe anyhow, they've got plenty!

Just Like Sheldon

Chapter 3

* * *

She stirred a spoon lazily through her hot chocolate, too focused on the man who was sitting on the couch, in what he deemed as 'his spot'. He was holding his hands in front of his face and inspecting his arms and legs with the expression of an overwhelmed newborn baby. She felt a sense of sympathy for him, not even being able to imagine what he must be going through. And speaking of going through things...

"So you went through that wall, right?" She asked, taking her mug and walking to stand in front of him in the living room.

"You were there when it happened." He replied.

"Oh. Well...anyway, if you could go through that then why aren't you sinking through that couch right now? Or the floor, for that matter."

He frowned in thought. "My only conclusion would be that I was undergoing an extreme amount of emotions such as fear, confusion, ecetera. Before then I had been quite numb and find myself the same way now. My emotional state must contribute to my physical being."

"Oooo-kay," Penny said. "So basically you can't go through things unless you're emotional?"

"Essentially."

"Neat," she said sarcastically, taking a sip then sitting beside him. He moved further away until he was squished into the arm of the chair.

"Can you eat or drink?" She asked, pretending to be oblivious to his aversion to their proximity.

"I have no desire to," he replied. "But that doesn't mean I can't."

"Here," she said, holding out her mug to him. "Take a sip."

He looked absolutely horrified. "Are you suggesting I put my mouth to that already saliva-ridden cup?"

"Newsflash, buddy. You're already in a coma; you're not an entire entity at the moment, I don't think you can get sick. Casper was always fine."

He did not look impressed at being compared to a fictional friendly ghost, but Penny just smiled sweetly and shook the mug in her hand. He grumbled nonsensical words but carefully took the cup from her hands, their fingertips brushing as the mug was manoeuvred. She gasped at the other worldly sensation and as a shiver travelled through up her arm, but he remained passive except for a slight twitch of his face. She could tell, though, that he felt something too. With agonising slowness he raised the mug to his lips and she watched with rapt fascination. She saw his throat contract and he brought the mug back down.

"So?" She asked expectantly.

"I couldn't taste it," he explained. "My taste buds seem to be redundant."

"Interesting," she murmured, accepting the cup from his outstretched hand.

"You know, we have been conversing for the majority of the night, and yet I don't even know who you are. Terrible manners, I must say."

"I'm sorry, my name's Penny." She supplied. "I moved here from Nebraska a couple of years ago and I'm an actress."

"An actress?" He asked. "What would I of seen you in?"

"Actually, I'm sorta up and coming. A steady stream of auditions at the moment." She smiled. "But in the mean time I work at the Cheesecake Factory. My big break is coming up soon, though, I can feel it. And my horoscope for the month said that a life altering change was on the horizon, and really that can only mean one thing. You know your star sign can really say a lot about you, I'm a Sagittarius but, well, that one should speak for itself. What's yours?"

"You talk too much. You need to move."

"Um, like seats?"

"No, preferably apartments."

"Excuse me?" She said, shocked.

"I have never lived with a room mate before, therefore why should I start now? Your presence is not needed, Penny."

She deserved some credit for how calm and collected she was being, she really did. But she honestly couldn't believe his audacity - just who did this guy think he was? If it was anyone else she would've punched them in the throat by now, but she didn't think her usual rules applied to someone from beyond the dead.

"Are you for real?" she said, instead of resorting to physical violence.

"I assure you there is no Bazinga," he said seriously.

"Bazin-, what the hell are you on about? And who do you think you are, ordering me to move out of my own apartment like I'm your servant or something? I don't take orders from you!"

"This is, as a matter of fact, my apartment and not yours. Therefore I can order you to move."

"I signed the papers that said this was mine now so I'm the only one who can order anyone out around here."

His face was stern as he glared at her until the muscles began to spasm almost dangerously, and Penny would of laughed at what happened next if she wasn't so fired up. His face was comical as he fell through the cushion and the solid bottom of the couch and he cried out as his arms flailed at his sides. He looked dumbfounded as his long neck and body stuck out from the leathery lounge.

"Karma," she tsk'd disapprovingly.

"I will probably have to get used to this," he mused distractedly.

A timid knock on the apartment door broke the tense silence.

"Who's that?" Sheldon asked quickly, alarmed.

"I don't know," she rolled her eyes. "Let me just use my x-ray vision."

"Not amusing. There's no need to bring the iconic Superman's powers into this."

"It's probably just someone coming to visit me at _my_ apartment," she called, making her way to the door.

"Wait! Should I hide?"

"Hmm, maybe they will be able to see you, maybe they won't. Let's find out." She didn't give home a chance to voice the protest that she knew would be coming, instead swinging the door open and propping her hip on the frame.

"Leonard!"

"Hi, Penny." He said sheepishly.

"Whats up, buttercup?"

"I'm just here to say hi, again. I haven't see you around much."

"Oh, well I've been pretty busy getting settled and everything. Otherwise I would of come and said hey." To be truthful, she had pretty much forgotten about her new neighbour.

"It's alright," he said, waving a hand through the air. "I haven't been home much... ya' know, going out with friends and having a social life." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Right," she smiled.

"So, uh, I heard yelling as I was on my way up the stairs and was checking if everything's al right?" He looked at her through his glasses with his squinty gaze.

"Yelling!" She said, turning back into apartment and watching Sheldon slowly make his way towards the door. Obviously Leonard couldn't see him - so she was the only one. Huh.

"I was just on the phone, ordering a pizza." She laughed. "The kid couldn't get my order right. But it's all good now."

Sheldon was by her side now, waving his hands in front of Leonard's oblivious face experimentally, but it was annoying for Penny to say the least.

"Stop it," she hissed.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, giving him a flirty smile to make up for her strange behaviour.

"You are the only one who can appear to see me, Penny. How incredible." He murmured.

"Mmm," she hummed, still smiling brightly at a slightly perplexed Leonard.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have me dinner with me on Friday night," he said, and it looked like it pained him to say it. "Just as a welcome to the neighbourhood kind of thing."

"I wonder why that is?" Sheldon continued, taking zero notice of the conversation going on around him. "I also wonder what would happen if..."

He reached over and poked Leonard's arm, watching as the be speckled man flinched and rubbed the spot absent-mindedly Sheldon began poking all over his arm slowly in giddy excitement.

"Penny?"

She swung her eyes back to Leonard's hopeful face who was clearly waiting in anticipation, but also flinching and rubbing the sore spots surreptitiously, trying to appear cool in front of the hot neighbour.

"Uh," she stuttered, still following Sheldons torture with her eyes. "Sure, yeah, that'd be fine."

She reached over and smacked Sheldons hand before he could make contact again, to his indignant exclamation of, "Ow!".

"Sorry," she said sheepishly to Leonard. "There was a bug on your arm."

"Uh, okay...thanks for trying to get rid of it. So I'll see ya at seven?"

"Sounds great!" She chirped.

He gave her a goofy smile as she closed the door.

"Was that really necessary?" Sheldon asked, arms crossed.

"Yes! You were creeping him out!"

"I was merely conducting an experiment and besides, Leonard Hofstadter is far too obtuse to notice anything of importance - especially in the presence of an attractive woman. He is a simple minded homo sapien."

"You think I'm attractive?" she grinned.

"I-I didn't say that," he insisted. "That really wasn't the point of my spiel, Penny, please pay attention. The point is that neighbour of mine is incapable of controlling his carnal urges. I saw women leaving his apartment at suspicious hours in the morning frequently. Do you really want to get involved in that?"

"It's just a stupid dinner, everything will be fine. I know you're obviously worried for my well being -" He sputtered indignantly. "But I can take care of myself. I will go junior rodeo on his ass if he tries anything with me - same goes for you, for that matter."

"I am above baser urges, thank you very much. I pride myself on not wasting time with frivolous human emotions and attractions."

"Good for you, sweetie." She said, patting his shoulder as he glared at the offending hand. "Because I was not keen to re enact that whole Ghost scene any time soon."

"Ghost scene?"

"Yep, you know that movie? With Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore?"

He gave her a blank stare.

"You've never seen it?"

"Penny," he chastised. "I watch complicated program's such as Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica which all involve intricate story lines and in-depth characters. I assure you I have no time to watch 'chick flicks'."

"Whatever floats your boat."She sighed.

"What boat?" He asked, confused. "I don't have a boat."

"You didn't have a lot of friends when you were conscious, did you?" she griped.

"No time," he said dismissively. "Too much important research. Theoretical physics is a perplexing field of study...thought I doubt you would know much about it."

"I know what physics is," she frowned. "'The study of the universe' and all that crap."

"'Crap', as you so articulately put it, is not included, although it is the study of how everything interacts in the universe, you are correct. I was currently on my way to proving string theory before... the current unfortunate events."

"String theory? What's that?"

"You want me to explain string theory to you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not?" she shrugged.

"Do you have a spare two hours?"

"Oh, balls."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry this took so long to update, and also for this chapter being a filler - it's meant to show their relationship and how far they have to grow, but still pretty boring. I'll have another chapter up definitely sometime soon, and am also guilty of beginning another story but I'm keeping that one under wraps until I have it planned out. Thank you so much for the continued support, I am officially in love with this fandom!

Just Like Sheldon

Chapter 4

* * *

He observed her, like an experiment, as she flitted around the apartment in her own unorganised way. She was scouring her floor for her work uniform, a piece of toast hanging from her mouth, her hair in a messy up do and pyjamas slipping off her body in a haphazard fashion. She looked like she had just literally rolled out of bed; which, he reasoned, was not too far from the truth. It was 11:00 and she had the lunch shift at The Cheescake Factory, which gave her an hour to get ready. Sheldon knew he would be able to achieve that feat easily - but of course he would appoint himself far much more time and wouldn't be caught dead rising after nine in the morning, no matter the occasion, or lack thereof. He thought of barging into her room ad waking her at 7:00 to begin her day, but decided he quite liked the peace and quiet of having the apartment to himself. He had hung around the apartment until she passed out around midnight last night. He wasn't tired at all, another effect of his supernatural being, so he had perused the Internet looking for guidance on his current state; somewhere between living and being deceased. It was an awkward place to be, that was for sure.

They had come to an unspoken mutual agreement that they would just have to learn to live together for the time being. He still maintained the apartment was actually his, while she still insisted it was hers. They were at quite an impasse, and he had a feeling it would remain so for quite some time.

Time; that was Sheldons biggest problem. Penny had revealed that he had already been in a coma for three months mow, and the fact that his family had decided to start renting out the apartment wasn't a good sign at all. It said to him that perhaps he wouldn't be on life support for too much longer. It surprised him that he was still functioning with the help of a machine, something he thought his mother would be completely against. As a devoutly religious lady, he thought she would of accepted that her son should be in the hands of God by now and that he was moving on to a better place. But maybe his mother just wanted to hold onto him for a bit longer, he thought, but how long was long enough?

"It would really help if you could help me find my clothes, Sheldon!" She growled around the toast, dodging around his body where he stood in the space between the living room and the kitchen.

"It would help if you would cease spreading crumbs all over the ground, Penny." He mocked.

"Not in the mood," she hissed.

"If you were more organised and your apartment didnt look like an entropy then you would have prepared this last night. Luckily for you, you have me around for that. Only lord knows how you survived without me."

"I survived fine!"

"Well moot point anyway, because I took the liberty of ironing and folding your uniform last night."

She froze and gave him a wide eyed stare, pulling the toast from her mouth.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Thank you," she said quietly, gathering the clothes from the armchair. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's natural for me to want to clean. I am a superior creature, after all." He said smugly.

"Yeah, you're definitely a creature of some kind." She mumbled. She plucked her cup of coffee from the kitchen bench and set it down on the coffee table.

"You need to use a coaster,"Sheldon frowned.

"It's fine," she murmured distractedly.

"You aren't some sort of barbarian," He rolled his eyes. "You'll mark the wood."

"I don't have the time, I need to have a shower. If you care so much, then you move it."

"I will not succumb to your every order that you are clearly capable of doing yourself. You're uneducated mind should be able to handle it. You're not the only one living here, Penny."

"Likewise, Sheldon!" She half-screamed, obviously becoming frustrated. He was becoming increasingly frustrated, too.

"You have no respect for me or this apartment," he pouted.

"You don't have respect for me either," she argued.

"You don't deserve it."

"Neither do you! Respect isn't automatically given, Sheldon, you have to earn it."

"I have a PhD and am renowned for my work in the physics field - I have evidently earned respect."

"This is the real world, and sorry to say, but no one gives a crap about that!"

A thick tension filled the air as they stared each other down across the room.

"I'm leaving," he said suddenly and stomped to the door, walking through the solid wood before Penny could utter another word.

~TBBT~

Penny entered her apartment at eight o'clock that night, giving a tired sigh at Sheldon who was watching TV in his spot on the couch. He didn't acknowledge her presence, instead choosing to resolutely stare at the moving images on the Discovery Channel documentary that was playing.

The shift she had just finished ha been a real shitty one, and she wanted nothing more than to have a hot shower and curl up to enjoy some good TV- preferably something like Sex and The City. But her mini fight with her unexpected new room mate had resulted in a sinking feeling lodging itself in her stomach all day, the kind she knew wouldn't disappear until they worked things out. Despite popular belief, she didn't actually like going Nebraskan on people's asses.

"Can we talk?"

He ignored her, his jaw stubbornly set as he kept his gaze straight forward.

"Please?"

Still no response.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please?"

Nothing.

"Okay," she began, taking off her jacket. "I'm just gonna start getting naked right here right now unless you talk to me..."

"Stop!" He squeaked. "There's no need for that!"

She gave a triumphant smirk. "It speaks!"

He gave her a glare. "Your juvenile attempt at interaction is not amusing."

"Juvenile schmuvenile," she grinned. "It worked."

His face gave a nervous twitch.

"And now I have your full attention," she started, sitting on the edge of the cushion next to Sheldon. "I just want to begin by saying that I'm sorry for the little spat we had this morning. I woke up late and was rushed, and wasn't awake enough to properly handle your opinion. So, um, yeah. I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," he said primly.

She waited and the seconds ticked by before he gave another twitch and turned back to the TV.

"Is that all? Isn't there something else you'd like to say to me?"

"Yes, I suppose so," he sighed. She smiled encouragingly.

"You smell like Cheesecake. It's not pleasant."

She huffed and pushed herself off the couch, thinking that if this man was so insufferable during his current state, then she couldn't imagine what he'd be like alive. But strangely enough, the fact that she had been worrying about their fight the majority of the day told her that she was becoming pretty fond of the dude.


End file.
